The Black Dahlia [WS]

Director: Brian De Palma Brian De Palma

Overview

Director Brian De Palma returns to the helm for the first time since 2002's Femme Fatale with this stylish screen adaptation of James Ellroy's novel detailing one of the most notorious unsolved murders in Hollywood history. Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) was a struggling actress looking to make a name for herself in 1940s-era Tinseltown. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, it was her grim fate that would ultimately overshadow anything she would accomplish during her short and tragic career. When police discover Elizabeth's body cut clean in half and with all of her organs missing, ex-pugilist detectives Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) are the men charged with cracking the case and apprehending the killer. This isn't your average murder case, however, and as Blanchard's marriage to Kay (Scarlett Johansson) begins to suffer due to his obsession with the sensational crime, his partner Bleichert discovers a troubling link between the victim and the mysterious Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), a prominent socialite and the daughter of one of the town's most connected key players.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/26/2006
UPC:	0025192918025
Original Release:	2006
Rating:	R
Source:	Universal Studios
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:02:00
Sales rank:	19,918

Special Features

Reality and Fiction: The Story of The Black Dahlia - Sit down with best-selling novelist James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential) as he gives his in-depth perspective on the Black Dahlia crime; The Case File: Go behind the scenes to meet the filmmakers, actors and crew who brought an infamous legend to the screen; The De Palma Touch: See how acclaimed director Brian De Palma brings his unique and shocking visual style to the film

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Josh Hartnett	Dwight 'Bucky' Bleichert
Scarlett Johansson	Kay Lake
Aaron Eckhart	Lee Blanchard
Hilary Swank	Madeleine Cathcart Linscott
Mia Kirshner	Elizabeth 'Betty' Short
Mike Starr	Russ Millard
Fiona Shaw	Ramona Linscott
Patrick Fischler	Ellis Loew
James Otis	Dolph Bleichert
John Kavanagh	Emmett Linscott
Troy Evans	Chief T. Green
Anthony Russell	Morrie Friedman
Pepe Serna	Dos Santos
Rachel Miner	Martha Linscott
Victor McGuire	Bill Koenig
Gregg Henry	Pete Lukins
Jemima Rooper	Lorna Mertz
Rose McGowan	Sheryl Saddon
Dan Ponce	Actor
Graham Norris	Cop
Mike O'Connell	Shore Patrol
Michael Flannigan	Actor,Desk Officer
John Solari	Baxter Fitch
Stephanie L. Moore	Actor,Baxter Fitch's Girlfriend
Noel Arthur	Gunman
Todd Thomas	Actor
Steve Eastin	Detective
Claudia Katz	Frolic Bartender
Mia Frye	Laverne Bartender
Richard Brake	Bobby DeWitt
Bill Finley	Actor,George Tilden
Joost Scholte	Madeleine's GI
Fatso Fasana	Dealer
Teo	Actor
Petar Milchev	Perp
Angus MacInnes	Captain John Tierney
Ian McNeice	Coroner
Fatso-Fasano	Dealer
Kiril Efremov	Friedman's Tough Guy #2
Kevin Dunn	Elizabeth Short's Father
k.d. lang	Lesbian Bar Singer
Daniel Ponce	MP
Alan Teo	Friedman Tough Guy
Brian De Palma	Voice of Film Producer
Mark Isham	Composer

Technical Credits

Josh Friedman

James Ellroy

Brian De Palma	Director
Josh Friedman	Screenwriter
Art Linson	Producer
Avi Lerner	Producer
Moshe Diamant	Producer
Rudy Cohen	Producer
James B. Harris	Executive Producer,Producer
Danny Dimbort	Executive Producer,Producer
Boaz Davidson	Executive Producer,Producer
Trevor Short	Executive Producer,Producer
John Thompson	Executive Producer,Producer
Andreas Thiesmeyer	Executive Producer,Producer
Josef Lautenschlager	Executive Producer,Producer
Henrik Huydts	Executive Producer,Producer
Rolf Deyhle	Executive Producer,Producer
Michael P. Flannigan	Producer
Samuel Hadida	Producer,Producer
Manfred D. Heid	Producer
Jochen Kamlah	Producer
John J. Kelly	Producer
Jordan Kessler	Producer
Gerd Koechlin	Producer
Dobril Andreev	Special Effects
Boyan Anev	Stunts
Steve Baine	Sound Effects
Yovko Dogandjiiski	Special Effects
Zarko Karatanchev	Special Effects
Zahari Grozdanov	Stunts
Vasil Simeonov	Stunts
Slavi Slavov	Stunts
Sonya Atanasova	Stunts
Tihomir Blagovestov	Stunts
Ivan Iliev	Stunts
James Ellroy	Screenwriter
Lucy Boulting	Casting
Johanna Ray	Casting
Rolf Dehyle	Executive Producer
Johnny Ray	Casting
Jean-Paul Mugel	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Brian De Palma’s masterful adaptation of James Ellroy’s superb crime novel is, like most of the director’s stylish thrillers, densely plotted and richly textured. Its jumping-off point is the real-life 1947 Los Angeles murder and gruesome disfigurement of aspiring actress and suspected prostitute Elizabeth Short (hauntingly played here by Mia Kirshner). Assigned to the case are ambitious detectives Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart), the LAPD’s current fair-haired boys. Each brings his own emotional baggage to the investigation, which takes them from the lowest levels of Tinsel Town’s underworld to the upper reaches of L.A.’s high society. In the best film noir tradition, nothing is what it seems and no one can be fully trusted. Black Dahlia boasts two female leads, both playing characters of questionable virtue: Scarlett Johansson is Kay Lake, Lee’s ex-hooker girlfriend, and Hilary Swank is Madeleine Linscott, a wealthy debutante whose sexual tastes run to the outré. De Palma deftly juggles numerous subplots, each of which he skillfully ties in to the Dahlia case. As is customary with this director’s films, Black Dahlia contains several bravura sequences of violence, each precisely choreographed and staged. Though it may not rank as high in the De Palma pantheon as, say, The Untouchables and Scarface, Black Dahlia remains riveting entertainment.